Are juveniles afforded the right to a speedy trial?

No. Unlike adults, juveniles have no federal constitutional right to a speedy trial.

Are juvenile delinquency cases taking longer to process today than ever before?

Yes. According to an analysis of nearly 3 million delinquency cases handled between 1985 and 1994 by 267 jurisdictions in 17 states, half of the delinquency cases handled by these jurisdictions in 1985 reached a final disposition within 6 weeks (i.e., the median was 43 days). By 1994, the median disposition time for all delinquency cases had increased 26% to 54 days. In the largest jurisdictions (more than 400,000 in population), half of the formally handled cases involving non-detained juveniles had disposition times in excess of 82 days.

Butts, J.A. and Halemba, G.J. Waiting for Justice: Moving Young Offenders Through the Juvenile Court Process. Pittsburgh, PA: National Center for Juvenile Justice, 1996. [NCJJ Order #65, $25]